Tornado touches down in Matagorda County near Victoria

MATAGORDA COUNTY – A tornado touched down in Sargent just before 6 p.m. Friday, county officials said.

Author:
KHOU.com Staff , KHOU

Published:
3:03 AM CDT August 26, 2017

Updated:
3:03 AM CDT August 26, 2017

MATAGORDA COUNTY – A tornado touched down in Sargent just before 6 p.m. Friday, county officials said.

The tornado tore apart sheds, blew down fences and sent debris flying throughout the city. There are no reported injuries as of now.

The following roads are impassable: 300 yards of the north end of Gulf VIew in Sargent (between Dolphin Way and Davey Jones) and 100 yards of Marina Drive.

A mandatory evacuation has been issued for the county. Emergency crews stopped moving evacuees Friday evening.

Many residents in Matagorda County did not evacuate on Friday.

Buses and emergency vehicles were able to transport approximately 90 special-needs individuals to facilities outside of the county Friday morning.

Matagorda Regional Medical Center ceased operations and transferred patients ahead of the storm. Emergency medical crews were no longer able to respond to calls due to flooding early in the day.

All known stores in Matagorda County are closed and County Judge Nate McDonald has signed a county-wide curfew from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., which will extend into next week.

Matagorda’s OEM believes a tornado touched down causing significant damage to a residential neighborhood in Sargent on Friday afternoon. Photos show a house and several trailer homes were damaged.The storm surge at Matagorda’s coast is expected to be up to 12-feet high, which is considered deadly.

The following roads are under water and impassible because of high tides and the feeder bands of Hurricane Harvey: 300 yards on the north end of Gulf View in Sargent; between Dolphin Way and Davy Jones and 100 yards of Marina Drive.

Scattered feeder-band storms of Hurricane Harvey continued to pass through Matagorda County into Friday evening. A tornado watch for Matagorda County is still in effect.